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Léon Kelly — Untitled
Léon Kelly — Untitled
Léon Kelly — Untitled
Léon Kelly

Untitled

1946

This ink drawing on paper presents a surreal anatomical composition featuring an elephant's head merged with human skeletal and muscular systems rendered in intricate cross hatching. The figure stands in a contrapposto pose against an ambiguous architectural background, its trunk gesturing downward while striped appendages extend from the lower body. Kelly's characteristic blend of naturalistic detail with biomorphic distortion exemplifies Surrealist interests in the uncanny and the transformation of recognizable forms, situating the work within mid century modernist explorations of the body and imagination.

Medium
ink on paper
Overall
Location
Rago Auctions, Lambertville, NJ

Notes

A Ménage with George Platt Lynes, Rago Auctions, 2026-05-01. Lot 165. Signed, dated and inscribed to lower right ‘To Glenway Wescott Leon Kelly 1946’.

🔨 Auction Lot

A Ménage with George Platt Lynes

May 1, 2026

Estimate: $1,000 to $2,000

Sold: $1,792

Lot 165

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About this work

Léon Kelly, Untitled, 1946

This ink drawing on paper presents a surreal anatomical composition featuring an elephant's head merged with human skeletal and muscular systems rendered in intricate cross hatching. The figure stands in a contrapposto pose against an ambiguous architectural background, its trunk gesturing downward while striped appendages extend from the lower body. Kelly's characteristic blend of naturalistic detail with biomorphic distortion exemplifies Surrealist interests in the uncanny and the transformation of recognizable forms, situating the work within mid century modernist explorations of the body and imagination.

Medium
ink on paper
Dimensions
overall: 24.4 x 17.1 cm
Year
1946
Seen at
Rago Auctions, Lambertville, United States

Related themes

Surrealism, Pen and Ink, Figure Study, Mid Century Modern, Paper Work, Skeleton, Contour Drawing, Sketch, Fantastical Imagery, Animal Anatomy, Figurative Art, Architectural Space, Body Transformation, Modernism, Monochromatic, Human Figure, Hybrid Forms, Ink Drawing, Anatomical Study, Biomorphic

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